Golden Boy Withdraws IBF Appeal

It’s not like Golden Boy to simply give up on what it wants without a fight. Something is up.

For reasons that are as clear a muddy puddle on an overcast day, Golden Boy Promotions, fresh off its successful appeal to the WBA to mandate an immediate rematch between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson, has decided to withdraw its appeal to the IBF.

Although no reason for the withdrawal has been made public, and when it is we would be wise to read between the lines, it’s a curious decision, especially in light of the WBA’s recent compliance.

The hearing before the IBF was scheduled for tomorrow. Whatever compelled the sudden rescinding of the appeal is food for thought, grist for the mill.

Was Golden Boy given a heads up from someone inside the sanctioning body as to which way it was leaning? Or might relate to Mustafa Ameen, the mysterious cat in the hat Khan made such a fuss over, a man who is or isn’t an employee of the IBF, a man who did or did not tamper with a WBA supervisor’s scorecard?

One thing however is for sure. It’s not like Golden Boy to simply give up on what it wants without a fight. Something is up.

SHE SAID, HE SAID

Jeanette Salazar, Public Relations Director for the IBF, wrote to RingTV.com, “At approximately 4:50 PM, EST, the IBF received notice that Golden Boy Promotions withdrew their appeal of the Khan-Peterson bout. The hearing that was scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled. We have not received any further information on this decision by Golden Boy Promotions.”

Telling Ring TV.com, a Golden Boy entity, what Golden Boy had done is like telling one’s conscience about a holdup one’s planning.

Those who were waiting for Richard Schaefer’s response didn’t have long to wait.

“You have certain officials who were going to be there telling their side of the story,” he said, “and you have others which were not going to be there, and I think that the bottom line is that that would result in a one-sided story, and I have shared my views on this particular subject with the IBF President Daryl Peoples a couple of weeks ago. I told him that if he was in fact going to have certain people there, and others not, then that does not sound to me as if there was a fully transparent meeting because only part of the story was going to to be told. So I do not see any reason to participate in such a process. That’s basically what it is.”

We hate to jump to conclusions, but it sounds as though Schaefer, for reasons he didn’t adequately explain, thought the risk of losing the appeal wasn’t worth the effort and bad publicity.

For a sport where winning and losing is as finite as it is in boxing, Schaefer seems to think that winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.

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There’s fighting and then there’s business and then there’s everything else that causes people to brush boxing off and look to other sports (MMA) doesn’t matter we all have our views Peterson is a good fighter I respect him as a professional. Khan is a better fighter like them both just want to see Khan and his camp move on.

[Tongue in cheek speculation] ANNOUNCEMENT TO FOLLOW: Golden Boy lures Peterson to sign on board. Golden Boy shrewdly withdrew its appeal to the IBF of the Khan/Peterson decision in expectation that Peterson will not comply with the mandatory rematch ordered by the WBA, but will sign a contract with Golden Boy. The WBA is expected to strip Peterson of his title but the IBF will keep Peterson’s belt securely around his waist. The end result is Golden Boy with two champions in their stable for the price of one!